Winston Churchill once said that “Russia is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.” Experiencing Russia is like experiencing magical realism—to the observer, everything seems as real as real can be, and at the same time, something’s a bit odd, out of place, or straight up bizarre. Russia holds so many contrasting, vivid lives in it that it’s no wonder why actually seeing them is so mesmerizing. And as one famous Russian vodka commercial says, “Russia can’t be understood with the mind.”
Alexander Petrosyan, the invisible hero of today’s story, is the chronicler of these colorful people. He lives in Sankt Peterburg (Peter, as the locals call it), Russia’s second-biggest city, and has accumulated quite an impressive archive of the city’s unique people and situations. The photographer likes to capture as many different people as possible in a single frame, creating something that could somewhat represent the diverse Russian experience.
Click here to read Alexsander Petrosyan’s interview.
Petrosyan got his first camera as a birthday gift when he was 12; he quit and came back a few times until he became a full-fledged professional in 2000.
His biggest inspiration comes from the source of his pictures, Saint Petersburg itself, where he has lived his whole life and which he knows by heart. “This is my world,” he says.
And he doesn’t fret that his photos won’t be understood that well outside the local context. “Perception depends on many different factors,” he says.
“But if the picture is taken with a certain energy, the viewer will feel it, regardless of geography and culture.” And indeed, they’re well understood and appreciated by thousands of people across the world.
At present, Petrosyan is a staff photographer for “Kommersant”, where he continues to push the limits of his surroundings, proving that there is something extraordinary about even the most, seemingly, ordinary aspects of life.
About Alexander Petrosyan
After taking up photography in the year 2000, Alexander Petrosyan realized that, in order to truly understand the world around him, he must first try to capture it through the camera lens, something at which he has continuously succeeded. Petrosyan finds true joy in exploring and portraying his subjects in innovative ways, photographing not only the beautiful but also the grotesque aspects of life.
Working for My District magazine from 2003 to 2008, Petrosyan became a true professional, able to accurately present the three-dimensional with only two dimensions and to illuminate the infinite levels of his environment in a single photograph.
At present, Petrosyan is a staff photographer for “Kommersant”, where he continues to push the limits of his surroundings, proving that there is something extraordinary about even the most, seemingly, ordinary aspects of life.
You can find Alexander Petrosyan on the Web :
Copyrights:
All the pictures in this post are copyrighted to Alexander Petrosyan. Their reproduction, even in part, is forbidden without the explicit approval of the rightful owners.
Via Boredpanda
